Inside Temenos - A Series of Inspiring Career Journeys, Stelios

At Temenos we believe that our people make the difference. What we create and achieve is a result of the aspirations and goals of the 4000+ unique individuals that make up Temenos today.

Our people drive real change, and working together as a team is what got us to where we are today.

In an effort to recognize and celebrate our talented colleagues, we'd like to share some inspirational stories from their time at Temenos, from previous employment and from their personal lives too.

1. Tell us about your role: When did you join Temenos?

I joined Temenos in 1997 as part of the Client Services Team in New York. Working for an international company gave me the opportunity to explore various roles and to advance my career in the directions that interested me the most.

What is your position in the company and how would you describe it in one phrase?

Currently I am the Solution Manager for our Core Banking product; my team is responsible for designing the functionality of our solution, ensuring the integrity of its product design and servicing framework. I believe this is our unique contribution to how Temenos is successfully reshaping the future of banking.

2. How did your career journey look before Temenos?

As an Electrical Engineering graduate, I began my career in usability design for a large telecommunications company followed by a software integration role within IBM.

3. What attracted you to Temenos?

Even though at the time I joined Temenos it was a young, small company with less than 100 employees, I could immediately see its ambition to grow at a rapid pace and take over the banking industry. Although today the company is considerably larger, mature and already established as a clear industry leader, we maintain the ambition by continuing to invest a lot of time and revenue in researching how we can further improve our products and business practices.

4. Tell us about your journey within Temenos:

- What was you first role here?

At that time, Temenos was opening new units, therefore as funny as it might seem, my initial tasks included assembling the desks and installing the IT systems for the new offices in New York.

Officially however, I started off as a T24 Implementation Consultant, and looking back I now realize it enabled me to grasp a deeper understanding of our solution which is now essential to my work.

- How did you progress from that? What motivated you?

As the company was small, most of the employees were involved in various types of activities. In my case, this provided great exposure to Sales and Presales processes, enabling me to learn how to act as a subject matter expert. From replying to RFPs to building presentations, delivering system demos and most importantly generating new business for Temenos, all the activities turned out to match my competitive nature.

- Did you have a mentor when you started your journey in Temenos? If so, tell us a bit about that.

I take pride in having the chance to shadow Charlie Klein, one of the original creators of T24. This experience exposed me to his wealth of knowledge, allowing me to gather and understand client requirements and better present them to our Core Development Group. As a matter of fact, this helped me decide to follow the Product path, which I consider to be the fantastic foundation and heart of Temenos, and for me personally, the best career choice at that time.

5. Tell us about yourself – what are you passionate about? Who are you at home?

Apart from being a proud dad of three tremendous daughters, I enjoy travelling with my family and exploring new places. Things like waking up on a sunny day with fresh snow and a full day ahead of skiing, are just perfect moments for me.

6. How do you think your passions/personal life link to your career?

Working for Temenos came hand in hand with my love for travelling as it allowed me to travel around the world and discover new countries. Apart from that, working on a daily basis with colleagues from different parts of the world provides me the chance to learn more about their cultures and even history, things that I am really passionate about.

7. When you joined Temenos, what were your career aspirations/goals?

From the very beginning, my aspirations were mostly related to the idea of joining a company that would allow me to make a significant contribution to the business and see the impact of my work. After joining Temenos and being exposed to Presales, my main focus was to help Temenos get a real foothold in the US market. Now, as part of the Core Product Group, I'm constantly tackling new and exciting challenges and identifying opportunities to enhance the solution for our clients. Furthermore, while the market share in the US is increasing, I am really excited to expand the Core Product Team in the region, opening a centre of excellence that will allow the team to work more closely with both US and international clients.

8. How do you think Temenos has helped you move forward in achieving your career goals so far?

Temenos constantly provides career opportunities and freedom to choose the path you envision, always encouraging and recognizing those self-driven individuals looking for new challenges and ways to innovate. The exposure to several areas of our business allowed me to build a good background and participate as a key contributor to redesigning our Core Banking Framework, which my team is now responsible for enhancing and extending.

9. What do you love about your job at Temenos? What motivates you every day?

During all my time in the company, I've considered myself fortunate to benefit from a great work environment with amazing colleagues that make going to work something I look forward to. As a person that enjoys solving problems by identifying suitable solutions and always determined to succeed, my motivation has been knowing that I'm helping to architect the best Core Banking system in the market. I've always believed that committing 100% to whatever I do will result in success both for the company and my own career path.

10. What is the most important thing you've learned so far in Temenos?

Do not be passive and wait for knowledge or opportunities to be handed to you. Find out what you don't know, work hard and success as well as further opportunities will present themselves.

11. What advice would you give to someone looking to take their career in Fin Tech to the next level?

First of all, choose a company that is growing and has a clear vision for the future. Then focus on gathering as much knowledge as possible, making sure you share it with your colleagues, this way you will ensure excellent collaboration and more chances to identify the best solutions for different issues.

All in all, always remember that Fintech is all about innovation, disruption and transformation, and will undoubtedly impact and lead the way financial institutions around the world operate. To be successful in this fast-paced industry no matter what company you work for, you must be thirsty to learn more and to find solutions that prove your technology should be the forefront of the financial world.

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Temenos constantly provides career opportunities and freedom to choose the path you envision, always encouraging and recognising those self driven individuals looking for new challenges and ways to innovate